When musicians perform on the street, they often earn their money by collecting donations from passers-by in the form of spare change dropped into an open instrument case.

Starting this month, however, musicians playing on the street in the Seaholm District can earn their wage from the city of Austin.

Beginning March 24, musicians will have the opportunity to play small, unamplified sets on the street in the Seaholm District and earn $150 per hour through the city’s new pilot program.

Performers are selected for the program after submitting a formal application to the city. They will play in the area from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays from March 24 through Sept. 29.

Trammell Crow Company is providing $150,000 to fund the program as part of its redevelopment of the Seaholm District area downtown, an area that previously contained a water treatment plant.

“Trammell Crow Company is pleased to be partnering with the city of Austin on this exciting new program that supports our talented local musicians, adds to the vitality of the overall redevelopment, and provides incredible live entertainment for the public, our tenants, and visitors to the City,” said Adam Nims, managing director of Trammell Crow’s Austin division via email.

While the initial stage of the pilot program is set to run through the fall, Austin Economic Development Department interim Director Rebecca Giello wrote in a city memo that one of the goals of this initial stage of the pilot program is to expand to additional areas of Austin in the future.

“Each year of the pilot program, performance data will be collected and analyzed to adjust and possibly expand the program,” Giello wrote.

Musicians can submit an application to participate in the program www.atxmusic.org.

Jack is the editor for Community Impact's Central Austin edition. He graduated in 2011 from Boston University and worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Maine, Massachusetts and North Carolina before moving to Austin in January of 2018.